Europa #435 G-RODO Build Journal - 2022 05

index

sitemap

advanced

search engine by freefind

go to list of milestones

Navigation & Acknowledgements

day	notes	hours
27	I've been suffering from sciatica since 14 April and that has discouraged me from physical work on the aeroplane (and from many other activities). However, I've been able to sit without too much discomfort so have been working on the documentation of mods. This includes adding a column to the website milestones page to provide links to photo pages that are relevant to each mod or service bulletin, etc. I have also made a start on checking which LAA forms are required for each of my mods, and on filling those that are relevant. Some time ago another Europa pilot reminded me of the benefit of the undercarriage warning on the SmartASS, even if one does not have a switch to detect U/C position. The sciatica now seems to be getting slightly less severe so today risk climbing into the cockpit to sit astride the tunnel on cushions over the fuel tap. Undo screws and remove radio panel. Undo POZI-2 screws on SmartASS cover and slide cover clear. Check positions of configuration switches - all are OFF. Change UCA switch to ON and photograph as confirmation. Re-fit SmartASS cover, fit and tighten screws. Re-position the radio panel, fit and tighten the screws. As a quick check of the camera mount strength, place the hook of the spring balance (purchased a while ago for the purpose) around the dome nut and, holding it in position, pull towards the starboard side. Can easily attain the 10kg maximum reading of the spring balance. Will need to use a eye nut or similar for the downward pull, and arrange some sort of lever for the upward push. LAA TL 3.24 calls for the mount to withstand a force of 3 times the camera weight to port & starboard, 9 times forwards, 6 times downward and 4.5 times upwards. The Lumix DMC-FT1 weighs about 190g, so the forces for it would be 0.57kg, 1.71kg, 1.14kg and 0.855kg respectively. Cut off a short length of perforated steel angle and drill one flange 1/4". Fit it to the camera mount behind the dome nut. Hook the spring balance into the hole on the free flange. Pull sideways, forwards, and downwards. Can get to 10kg easily in all those directions with no sign of stress on the camera mount. Hold a length of angle in place against the dome nut and pull upwards on the free end. Again easy to reach 10kg pull, which equates to 20kg at the mount because of the leverage. Not sure if I can get a satisfactory reading on the digital luggage scale, but give it a try, connected to the tab on the camera mount by a loop of the 80 lb nylon fishing line. Can just get above 20kg pulling forwards with considerable effort, although can't get a steady reading. Pulling downwards is easier and can get a steady 13.9kg. So the port & starboard tests allow for a camera of 10kg / 3 = 3.33kg; upwards for 20kg / 4.5 = 4.44kg; downwards for 13.9kg / 6 = 2.31kg; and forwards for 20kg / 9 = 2.22kg. So the critical case for these results is forwards with a maximum allowed camera weight of 2.22kg. That's not enough for the Mamiya RB67 at 3.65kg but fine for the Rolleiflex at 980g or the Canon F-1 at 1200g. But of course it's digital and video cameras like the GoPro that will be the common use of this camera mount and they are mostly in the 100g - 200g bracket so very safe indeed. In any case LAA TL 3.24 calls for cameras of mass <250g.	3617.2

go to previous page of journal	go to list of narrative pages	go to next page of journal
	Return to Rowland's home page

This page last updated 2022-11-17 20:58. I try to make this page as accessible as possible, by adhering to HTML 4 standards.
I welcome comments on this website. However, because of the amount of spam it attracts, I no longer post a direct e-mail address on any page. Instead, please click here to contact me. You will have to confirm that you are human before the message will be sent on to me.